It has been announced that another skipper of the Jersey Clipper is to leave. The yachts competing in the 2005-6 race recently reached Panama, where current skipper Richard Franklin said that outside commitments meant that he would leave the team when they reached New York. He will be replaced by Mervyn Wheatley, a retired Royal Marines Major, who will be the fourth skipper to command the yacht.

The boats will race from Panama to Port Antonio, Jamaica on Thursday. They will start the race to New York – marking Mr Franklin’s last leg onboard the yacht – the following Friday.

The Jersey Clipper is in ninth place overall, 3.5 points ahead of their nearest competitor Glasgow, and a massive 40 points behind overall leader Durban.